This comparative evaluation of the differing educational systems in North America, Europe, the USSR, and Japan examines the goals and values of these systems. It is pointed out that Americans value equality, practicality, and utility and that they are both individualistic and suspicious of government authority. Contrasts between these values and those implicit in the societies in Western Europe, Russia, and Japan are explored. The structure and organization of educational systems is also discussed. Judgments are offered concerning the effective locus of power in such matters as school organization, curriculum, and personnel policies. The Soviet Union, France, and Japan are identified as highly centralized systems and comparison is made between the structure of these sytems and those of Western Europe (mixed local, regional, and central control), and America and Canada, where local control is usually decisive. The selectivity of these systems is discussed as they reflect cultural attitudes toward the upward mobility of citizens. Differences and similarities in educational outcomes and policy implications between the systems are are also pointed out, and special consideration is given to changes in attitudes toward schooling over the past few decades. Appendix I contains an analysis of science and mathematics education in the Soviet Union and Japan. Appendix II discusses equivalencies in secondary schooling in the United States, Canada, Japan, the Soviet Union, Japan, and West Germany. Statistics on school enrollments are presented in tabular format. (JD)